


Don't Pretend

by orphan_account



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Card Games, Caring Eiffel, Eiffel Is A Good Friend, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, Poker, Scared Minkowski, The Empty Man, Zero Gravity is not a Thing anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 16:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14697594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Minkowski is still a bit shaken after the Empty Man incident.  A look at the start of a friendly new tradition.





	Don't Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> ~~my three am writer's brain forgot completely about zero gravity while writing this self indulgent mess, so just overlook that thanks ~~~~~~

Here’s the thing about Renee Minkowski: she can’t bear the thought of being alone.

 

It’s all but an official agreement at this point.  An unspoken rule. Doug Eiffel retires to his quarters once work is done for the day, and most nights, there will be a knock shortly after.  It’s stopped being as weird for him to see her like that, trudging into the room quietly like a child who’s had a bad dream.

 

The first night was after the Empty Man incident.  He had just gotten changed and ready when he heard a knock.

 

_ ‘Please God, don’t be Hilbert,’  _ he thought to himself, swinging the door open.  His eyes widened a bit. “O-Oh, Commander. Is there an emergency?”

 

Her hair was matted and frizzed, he hadn’t thought it was physically possible for her to take her hair out of a bun.  Now that her hair was down, however, it was quite easy to see the few kinks and ringlets she had unsuccessfully tried to straighten.  The expression she wore was tired, her eyes were fearful, her shoulders were hunched with tension.  _ She wasn’t forcing herself to hold it together. _

 

“Com-Commander?  Everything alright?”  
  
“D-Do you wanna play cards?”

 

“Um… What?”

 

She held out a deck of cards.

 

“Yeah, uh, sure thing Minkowski.  Texas Hold ‘Em?” He still wasn’t quite sure  _ why  _ she was here to play cards in the middle of the night, but he figured it was best not to question it.

 

She looked around hesitantly.  “Anything we can use as chips?”

 

He considered for a moment before smirking.  This _was_ _probably_ the right moment for contraband snacks.

  
  
  


***

  
  


“Really?” she laughed.  “No way, you seriously did not-”

 

“I did!  I went in there and I  _ told  _ them-”

**“Officer Eiffel?  Commander Minkowski?”**

 

“Oh!  Yes, Hera?”  She set her cards down, leaning back on the bed.

 

**“I just wanted to remind you that you’ll both need to be awake and ready to report in approximately 3 hours, 32 minutes and 46 seconds.  Also, Eiffel has been eating the chips while you’re not looking, Commander.”**

 

“I knew it!”  She swatted his arm.

 

“Hey, they’re  _ my  _ contraband pretzels!”

 

She sighed a little.  “Thank you, Hera. Goodnight.”

 

**“Goodnight Commander.  Goodnight Doug.”**

 

“Night, Hera.”  He waited for the speaker to turn off before grabbing a handful of Minkowski’s chips.  “So… We should probably got to sleep?” He inquired, mouth full of pretzels.

 

“Um, yeah,” she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

 

“Hey, uh, Commander?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What uh- What’s all this about?  Are you dying? Am  _ I  _ dying?”

 

“No, Eiffel, no one’s dying.  I just- This Empty Man thing-  I’m scared, Doug.”  
  
“I-It wasn’t real though.  Just some asshole prank from command.”

 

“I know, I’m just- God, this is fucked.”

 

“Did the esteemed Commander Renee Minkowski just swear?”

 

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

“Yeesh, point taken.”  He snarked, leaning back and- Oh.  _ Oh.   _ “Oh shit, tears.  I’m uh- I’m not good with tears.”

 

“God, Eiffel, it’s fine-  It’s- It’s all fine.”

 

“Nope.  Nope. Stop it.”

 

“Stop what?” she muttered, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

 

“Pretending everything is alright.  It’s- It’s not! What command did to us- that was fucked.  Fucked to the first degree. But I’m  _ not  _ going to let you and your goddamn leadership complex  _ pretend _ you’re okay, pretend  _ any  _ of this is okay!”  He paused. “Okay?”

 

“O-Okay.”

 

“Good.”  He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand.   _ God, what am I doing?   _ “Just… God, just relax for like, five seconds.  Are you physically capable of that?”

 

She opened her mouth to talk then closed it and nodded a little.

 

“Good,” he muttered.

 

She hesitated before pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning her head onto his shoulder just a little.

 

They sat for a while, in a very awkward silence.  She sniffled and smiled a bit eventually. “Hera called you Doug.”   
  


“ _You_ called me Doug.”  
  
“Well I’m not Hera.”

 

He frowned.  “What are you implying?”

 

“Nothing.”  She smirked, sighing a little.  “I mean, she is an AI.”

 

Eiffel snorted.  “Yeah, that’d be like, what?  Romeo and Juliet-bot? Talk about forbidden love.”

 

_ “Love?”  _  She raised her eyebrows.

 

“Shut it.”  He scooted in closer, wrapping his arms around her.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

He grunted a bit as he picked her up.  God she was heavy, the woman was nothing but muscle.

 

“Eiffel, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

 

“I- I gotcha!”  He beamed, dropping her carefully onto the bed.”  
  
She rolled her eyes and yawned.  “I’m so very proud of you.”

 

“I know you are.”

 

“Where are you sleeping?”

 

He shrugged.  “Up to you.”

 

“Do- Do you want to- ?”  She moved herself slightly to the side.

 

“Sure?”  He nervously slid under the blanket.

 

“Goodnight, Doug.”

 

“Goodnight, Renee.”

 

She glared at him as he smiled and rolled his eyes.

  
“Sorry.  Goodnight, _Commander._ ”


End file.
